Sahel EDU

The vocabulary of school life: attendance, discipline, councils and following up with families

School life covers everything that surrounds teaching itself: who is present, who is late, what happens when a rule is not respected, how the school and the family talk to each other. This glossary explains its words in a few lines, sorted by theme, with the French and Arabic equivalent of each. The definitions describe common usage; each school’s internal rules set out the measures it applies.

Attendance, absences and late arrivals

Attendance is noted at each session, and schools in Cameroon count absences in hours. That total is then used on the report card and, beyond a threshold, for disciplinary measures.

Register (Arabic: تسجيل الحضور): checking who is present at the start of a session. The teacher notes the absent and the late.
Attendance register (Arabic: سجل الحضور): the class book in which the presences and absences of each session are noted.
Absence (Arabic: الغياب): not being present at a lesson.
Excused absence (Arabic: غياب مبرَّر): an absence whose reason has been accepted by the school, on explanation or on a document.
Unexcused absence (Arabic: غياب غير مبرَّر): an absence with no accepted reason. Its hours count towards disciplinary measures.
Late arrival (Arabic: التأخر): arriving after the start time. Late arrivals add up and can lead to a measure.
Hours of absence (Arabic: ساعات الغياب): the total hours of lessons missed, excused or not, shown on the report card.

Excuses and links with families

An absence does not settle itself: the family explains it, the school notes it, and the two keep each other informed. Several paper and follow-up tools serve this conversation.

Excuse (Arabic: التبرير): the step by which the family explains an absence, to the senior supervisor or, if the school allows it, online.
Summons to parents (Arabic: استدعاء الأولياء): a written invitation to come to the school to talk about the student’s situation.
Correspondence book (Arabic: دفتر المراسلة): the book that travels between school and family: messages, excuses, end-of-period marks.
Absenteeism (Arabic: التغيب المتكرر): being absent repeatedly, with or without an excuse.
School dropout (Arabic: التسرب المدرسي): the process that leads a student to leave school before finishing the course. It is often preceded by absences and falling results.
At-risk student (Arabic: تلميذ معرّض للخطر): a student whose unexcused absences or low or falling average call for follow-up.

Discipline and sanctions

In Cameroon schools, the education framework law bans corporal punishment and all violence: the measures below are disciplinary sanctions, never acts of violence. They are graded by the seriousness of the facts.

Discipline (Arabic: الانضباط): the school’s rules of conduct together with the measures that enforce them.
Internal rules (Arabic: النظام الداخلي): the school’s text setting out rights, duties and sanctions. Parents and students read it.
Warning (Arabic: إنذار): a first measure, spoken or written. It may concern conduct or work.
Reprimand (Arabic: توبيخ): a sanction more severe than a warning, placed on the student’s file.
Detention (Arabic: الاحتجاز): an obligation to stay at school outside lessons to do a task.
Suspension (Arabic: الفصل المؤقت): removing the student for a set period.
Expulsion (Arabic: الفصل النهائي): dismissal with no return. It is decided by the disciplinary council.

Councils and bodies

Important school-life decisions are not taken alone: they go through meetings whose minutes are signed and kept.

Class council (Arabic: مجلس القسم): a meeting of a class’s teachers at the end of a period, with the head of school or a representative. It takes stock of results and behaviour.
Disciplinary council (Arabic: مجلس التأديب): the body that examines a student’s serious faults and decides the sanction. As a general rule, it alone can pronounce an expulsion.
School board (Arabic: مجلس المؤسسة): a consultation body provided for by the texts that organise public schools.
Minutes (Arabic: محضر): the signed record of a council, kept in a register.
Class representative (Arabic: مندوب القسم): a student chosen by classmates to represent them; they may sit on the class council.

Leaving school, health and safety

A child’s safety depends on precise actions: who can collect them, who knows if they are ill, who authorises leaving early.

Exeat (English: leaving certificate; Arabic: شهادة المغادرة): a numbered certificate of departure, issued when a student leaves the school.
Exit permit (Arabic: إذن بالخروج): agreement given to a student to leave school before the normal time.
Authorised persons to collect the child (Arabic: الأشخاص المخوّل لهم استلام الطفل): the list of adults named by the parents to come and fetch the child.
Health record (Arabic: البطاقة الصحية): medical information useful to the school, which must stay confidential.
Sick bay (Arabic: غرفة التمريض): the place that receives a sick or injured student and where the care given is noted.

Encouragement and positive follow-up

School life is not limited to sanctions: it also rewards regular attendance and effort. The thresholds for distinctions are set by each school.

Honour roll (Arabic: لوحة الشرف): the list of students distinguished for their results, according to thresholds set by the school.
Commendation (Arabic: التشجيعات): a distinction granted by the class council to a student whose results or effort are improving.
Congratulations (Arabic: التهنئة): a distinction above commendation, for very good results.
Regular attendance (Arabic: المواظبة): how regularly a student is present, measured over a period.
Remedial teaching (Arabic: التدارك): catch-up teaching offered to students who have not reached the aims of a subject.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an excused and an unexcused absence?

An excused absence has a reason accepted by the school, on explanation or on a document. An unexcused absence has none, and its hours count towards disciplinary measures.

Who decides on an expulsion?

As a general rule, the disciplinary council, which hears the student and their parents and draws up minutes. In Sahel EDU, an expulsion cannot be recorded outside a disciplinary council.

What is the correspondence book for?

For passing messages between school and family: absence excuses, summonses, end-of-period marks. Parents sign it to show they have read it.

Can software decide on a sanction?

No. In Sahel EDU, the system proposes a measure based on the scale in the internal rules; the senior supervisor or the head decides.

How does Sahel EDU handle the register and late arrivals?

The teacher takes the register for each session on their phone. Absences are counted in hours, excused or not, and the family sees them in their online space.

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